About hope in the face of disaster and death
On August 6, 1945, a 9,000 pound U-235 bomb was dropped over the city of Hiroshima. The nuclear bomb exploded destroying five square miles of the city. Ninety per cent of the city was destroyed and 80,000 people died immediately. Thousands more died later.
This explosion had a devastating impact on humans and even buildings. Sometimes the two merged when humans were so powerfully obliterated by the explosion that the only visible remains of such individuals were a shadow on a nearby wall. Most of us are familiar with those scenes of disaster. Less well known are the “survivors”, in particular the trees, shrubs and groves that managed to survive that horrific day.
170 trees survived in 55 locations, within about 1¼ miles of ground zero when most of the other trees and vegetation were destroyed. Over the ensuing years, the City of Hiroshima, tree experts, and citizen volunteers have lovingly tended the trees that survived the bomb. Each bears a nameplate reading Hibakujumoku (survivor tree).
Some trees looked scorched beyond survival but despite retaining the lifelong scars of the blast on their bark managed miraculously to stay alive. These “survivors” have become a reminder of the spirit of Hiroshima. Indeed, these damaged trees have become perversely representatives of peace. Seeds from these survivors have been posted to countries all around the world and been planted to encourage the importance of peace and remind all nations of the deadly consequences of war.
Over 2000 years of Resilience bears fruit
Around 1963-1965, excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada, Israel, revealed a store of date palm seeds perfectly preserved in an ancient jar. These had been stored in a very dry and sheltered environment for centuries. In fact, Radiocarbon dating at the University of Zurich indicated that the seeds dated from between 155 BC to 64 AD. Fascinating to think that these seeds were well over 2000 years old. The story goes cold for a period (literally) as these ancient seeds were held in storage for 40 years at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan. The story could have ended here with seeds stored safely after two millennia.
This all changed in 2005, when Dr. Elaine Solowey from the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies managed to sprout several seeds. Three of these seeds were subsequently planted at Ketura, in southern Israel. Unbelievably, eight weeks later, one of the seeds had sprouted, and by June 2008, the tree had nearly a dozen fronds and was nearly 4 ft 7 in tall. By the summer of 2010, the sapling stood about 6 ft 7 in tall. The plant was given the name "Methuselah" after the longest-lived person listed in the Bible. It is the only living Judean date palm in the world as these species have been extinct for over 800 years.
In 2005, there was hope that the successful sprouted seed would turn out to be female, for which there was a 50% chance, as then it could give fruit. As one of the researchers pointed out, “if it's a male, it will just be a curiosity."
The story which started over two millennia earlier in an ancient palace was ruined in March 2011 when Methuselah flowered in March 2011 and despite all the excitement turned out to be male! At this point, it must have seemed so unfair. Seeds happened to be kept in a jar, in perfectly dry circumstances for two thousand years in an ancient palace, rescued and stored for forty years in cold storage in university and then brought back to life in a single successful plant which turns out to be male and incapable of fruiting. If you were writing the script you would have wished a better ending! However, the story does not end there. In 2012, someone came up with a plan. They want to crossbreed the palm with its closest existing relative the Hayani date from Egypt in the hope of generating fruit by 2022. In 2015, Methuselah produced pollen that has successfully pollinated female date palms.
As of 2019, additional Judean date palm seeds have been grown. Thirty-two seeds from locations in the Dead Sea area were planted, and six saplings have survived. Because several seedlings are female, it is hoped that it will be possible to pollinate one or more of the female Judean date palms with the pollen from Methuselah.
This ancient seed could have real practical implications for us all in the future. Sarah Sallon, the head of the project, wants to see if the ancient tree has any unique medicinal properties no longer found in today's date palm varieties. "The Judean date was used for all kinds of things from fertility, to aphrodisiacs, against infections, against tumours," she said. Now, wouldn’t that be the perfect end to a very old and odd story?
Bahá’í Writings
Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteglad you think so!! x
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